Thursday, October 8: Project Runway star and style guru Tim Gunn will moderate a discussion of the exhibit “Anne Truitt: Perception and Reflection” at the Hirshhorn Museum. Panelists discussing Truitt’s work include filmmaker Jem Cohen and photographer John Gossage. Admission is free; tickets will be distributed at 5:45 in the museum’s lobby. 7 PM.

Add some oomph to your weekend with murders, thrills, and plenty of double-crossing—all courtesy of the inaugural ThrillSpy International Film Festival. Screenings of spy-themed movies will be held every day through Saturday at the Goethe-Institut and the Naval Heritage Theater. For tickets and more information, check out the festival’s Web site.

Have a good time and help out one of our favorite causes tonight by attending the Street Sense Silent Auction. Held at the WVSA Arts Connection (1100 16th St., NW), the newspaper’s yearly auction and party will feature drinks and food. You can get tickets here. 7 PM.

The National Museum of American History delves into the cultural impact of Michael Jackson’s music as part of its Meet Our Museum lecture series. Associate curator Reuben Jackson will lead a discussion examining the growth of the King of Pop as an artist, the composers behind his biggest hits, and the technology that changed music during his reign at the top of the charts. The lecture begins at noon on the second floor of the museum.

We love it when folks take a liberal interpretation of the term “art.” That’s what’s going on today when an exhibition of art created out of Red Bull cans goes on display at Union Station. Check out the creations starting tonight; the exhibition goes until October 18. You can also view some of the artwork here.

A new watering hole in DC’s Dupont Circle, Maddy’s Bar & Grille ( 1726 Connecticut Ave., NW; 202-483-2266)—which replaces the much-missed Timberlake’s—will host its grand opening tonight. The place is classic but casual and exudes an upscale-sports-pub atmosphere. Besides the 14 beers on draft, there’s a tasty-looking late-night food menu.Friday, October 9: Debate teammate? Volunteer worker? Fraternity member? Please, that’s so 2002! These days, no college resume is complete without highlighting that you were part of your university’s solar-house-building team. Today kicks off the annual Solar Decathlon competition on the Mall, which pits 20 universities against each other to see who can build, design, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house. Houses will be open to the public from 11 to 3 on Friday, and admission is free.

In honor of October, Reston puts on a rousing three-day party starting today complete with a carnival for kids and fall brews for adults. Tired of bratwurst and knockwurst? There’ll be 11 local restaurants, including Café Montmartre and Mon Ami Gabi, offering food. The event runs from noon to dusk, with free admission and individual food and drink tickets for $1 each or 24 for $20.Saturday, October 10: Oktobeerfest, which runs from noon to 6 in Old Town, is sponsored by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group and DC Central Kitchen. Stop by Rustico for tastes of fall dishes plus samples from NRG’s other restaurants, including Vermilion, Tallula, EatBar, Evening Star Cafe, Buzz Bakery, and Columbia Firehouse. Birch & Barley, a soon-to-open restaurant in DC’s Logan Circle, will make an appearance, too. To wash your meal down, there’ll be 20 seasonal beers on tap. There’ll also be live music. A raffle that evening will benefit DC Central Kitchen, which promotes food recycling and fights hunger.

What’s not to like about the two-day Old Town Alexandria Food & Wine Festival? From 11 to 6 Saturday and Sunday, the historic neighborhood will host sommelier seminars and wine tastings, food-related author readings, and cooking demonstrations. Eleven Alexandria restaurants, including Vermilion and the Majestic, are planning wine dinners. General admission is $15 and will get you into seminars and demonstrations; wine can be purchased separately. A tasting ticket—$31 online and $35 at the door—includes tastings from all the wineries and a souvenir glass.

More than two dozen Washington restaurants will gather for Taste of Georgetown, an annual food-and-wine event. Samples of signature dishes are $5 each, and bracelets for the wine pavilion cost $10. There’ll also be entertainment and jazz performances compliments of Blues Alley. The festival runs from 11 to 4 along Wisconsin Avenue between M and South streets, Northwest. More info here.

Ladies: channel your inner Lolita, hike up that skirt, and study some Britney Spears videos, because Town Tavern is having its first annual “Naughty Schoolgirl Night” on Saturday. Listen, we don’t normally encourage readers to flaunt their femininity, but ladies dressed to fit the theme drink free from 8 to 11, and the “hottest schoolgirl” will win a year’s worth of free drinks. Admission is free, though you may have to buy your dignity back at the end of the night.

Sunday, October 11: Hip, hip, hooray—Punch Club is back! If you never made it, Punch Club was a great but all-too-brief happy hour featuring—you guessed it—punch at the Warehouse. The happy hour is moving to the new Columbia Heights wine bar Room 11. Glogg and “Rocky Mountain Punch” will be served. 5 PM.

Have a feel-good weekend at the Green Festival (taking place Saturday as well), a cornucopia of environmental workshops and eco-friendly promotions sponsored by the Global Exchange and Co-op America. There’ll be speakers—the roster includes locavore idol Joel Salatin of Virginia’s Polyface Farms—and a spread of organic food and beer. The festival, held at the DC Convention Center (801 Mount Vernon Pl., NW) is Saturday 10 to 7 and Sunday 11 to 6. Regular festival passes, good for both days, are $15; reduced prices are available for senior citizens, college students, and those who arrive by bike or public transport. Visit here or call 202-872-5332 for tickets.

Steins, sausages, and a Sound of Music sing-along—your Sunday evening can’t get much better than that. For all that fun, head to EatBar tonight for its Sunday movie series, where you’ll see the Julie Andrews classic and get bratwurst and free beer steins. Those are a few of our favorite things! 8 PM; free.

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